"You don't have to be the bravest person in the world. Just the bravest writer."

-August Dimitri

Joe Bonamassa

"Tell me how long, s'posed to keep a good man down; 'fore he packs his suitcase, and gets the hell out of town?"

David Hamilton

"If you are on a beach and you notice a face, or a body, that stands out from the crowd, the sight of which makes your heart leap in your breast, then stop. If your feeling is honest and sincere, it will help you find the right words. Who knows what could then come from such a meeting?"

Garfield Minus Garfield

STOP RACIST HUMAN SKIN PHOBIA

"STOP RACIST HUMAN SKIN PHOBIA clearly addresses the issue of irrational prejudice towards the unclothed human body. This racist issue of human self-hatred is the key to why naked humans in public are frequently arrested and imprisoned. This issue of nakedness is an issue of race, namely the human race. Self-hate and self-disgust motivate clothed humans (who hide their naked racial identity) to persecute those brave people who refuse to hide their human flesh. The criminalisation of the naked human body is racism towards the human race. It is discrimination based upon the genetic visual identity of the human body. This is an issue of skin freedom: humans (members of the human race) are currently persecuted because of SKIN irrespective of skin colour!"

Body of Art

26 March, 2012

Con Report 2012 (Tekko X) - Part 1: Intro

2012 marks the year of my fifth consecutive attendance at Tekkoshocon, Pittsburgh's anime convention, that is now in its tenth year (that means I've attended half of the Tekkos!). Unlike certain of my friends (:p), I have not yet gotten burned out on attending conventions (or anime conventions specifically), and if anything, I am getting more excited and involved every year.

Glancing back at my journal from the first Tekko I attended back in 2008 (the transitional year between when they moved from Monroeville to the inner city), I mentioned something I had heard spoken in the company of attendees to the Burning Man festival in Nevada (which I attended once, that same year). They were talking about people's experience of the festival, and how the first time you go, there's a lot of excitement. The second time can either be a disappointment, because the novelty is gone, or even better, because you know what you're in for and are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities for fun that are available to you. After that, you tend to either get burned out on the experience, or else you become attached to it. I suspected back in 2008 that I was getting attached to attending anime cons (though it's much much more fun going with friends, than going alone), and it seems after a few years that I was not mistaken.

Granted, cons are still not magical wonderlands where everything that happens is good, and there are never any frustrations or disappointments. But I am of the opinion that you get as much out of a convention as you put into it. You have to find the things you like about it, and then make the most of them. I will concede, however, that the greatest portion of my enjoyment of anime cons probably comes from all the cute girls dressed up in sexy costumes and outfits (of which there is no shortage whatsoever =3). But anime itself is an outlet for me wherein I can revel in the hotness of [anime] girls, and that's reflected not just in the cosplaying (or not -_^) con-goers, but in the merchandise in the Dealer's Room, the AMVs and videos they show, and so on. So that if some of the panels suck, or some of the fans are immature, or I'm exhausted and hungry, or what have you, there are always those parts of the convention that I can enjoy.

The other major excitement of a con for me is my developing interest in doing cosplay myself. It's taken until now for me to develop that interest on two fronts: first, my continuing experience as a model, as well as my burgeoning interest in fashion (specifically, girly fashion; which is, for me, to say - cross-dressing); and second, having a friend who actually has the skill and the desire to help put together costumes for me to wear. And so, this year, the most exciting thing I have to talk about the con is the costumes I wore, and with the con only a day behind me, I've already begun brainstorming cosplay ideas for next year!